On the passing of David Bowie

On January 10, 2016 pop star David Bowie passed away due to cancer. This was a sad event.

It was a sad event because a human being ceased to live. He was very obviously loved by his family, his wife Iman and his son Duncan Jones, to name but a few. He had just released an album last week and by all measures was back. Back, if not at the very top, certainly near the top of his game; top of the pop world and whatever that entails.

David Bowie was a pop star and a minor film star. Nothing more; nothing less. He was a man who was extremely talented at what he did. He did his job very, very well of that we have no argument. He was a pop star.

We, as a society, give god like status to our heroes and Bowie was certainly no different. Many saw him as a major force in their lives and for many he was. Many, many have mentioned how they spent the evening in tears listening to Bowie. Good. One should worship their idols as they see fit, even when and especially when they are fallen.

I’m not an idolizer. Yes, I posted a picture on Facebook with the obligatory quote from a song and then later the last picture ever taken of him. And now I am done. It’s not that I feel that we shall speak of him no more because that’s silly. Of course we’ll speak of David Bowie but I will also remember that he was a pop star; nothing more, nothing less. I did not know David Bowie, we are/were not related, we were not close personal friends. I have had no interaction with David Bowie other than to be one of many thousands at a concert in Houston in 1981. It was, as I recall, a fine concert and a good time was had by all. We went home after the concert. We/I did not stand outside of his dressing room, or paint my walls with large Bowie murals. It did not alter my life other than to alter my evening as I could have been doing something else.

I have never been an idolizer and as such I have a bit of a problem understanding those that are. I find it just a bit odd that we put such importance on any entertainer. They are people just like us; albeit they’re famous when most of us are not, at least I’m not. They’re fame comes and goes; popularity is a fickle thing and one minute an entertainer is at the top of the charts and popularity and the next they’re appearing on game shows or in a movie with David Hasselhoff.

I’ll close by saying that if you were personally affected by the death of David Bowie then I wish you well. May you find peace in his music and reflections of what he meant to you.